Cat-Cradle
Cat-Cradle is the fifth update of the Gotham Knights serials. It is a sequel to "As White as Snow", taking the story in a different direction than "Fear Factor" and was also set-up with the closing lines of "Under the Umbrella". It focuses on Selina Kyle who, who was introduced in "As White as Snow", and her journey to become Catwoman by looking at both her past and present. Synopsis Fed up with her ineffective methods, Selina Kyle is inspired by Batman to use skills gained in her childhood to do what is right, even if it means doing what is wrong. Story A young girl prowled the halls. Her back was against the it and her face pointed towards the corner watching and listening and waiting. She moved and slowly looked around the bend. Nobody was in the halls of the orphanage. All the lights were off in the rooms guarded by windowed doors, except one, the administrator’s office, but she turned the corner and sneaked down the hall slowly anyway. It should not have been a problem. But it was. The door opened, and the greasy caretaker exited. “G’night Ms. McColloch,” he said, before shutting the door. The girl froze against the wall while the caretaker flicked on a flashlight, and when he turned to his left, its scope caught the girl. “You!” he said as he reached for her and grabbed her by the cuff. “Oh, Ms. McColloch! Look what I found!” he said. He was a nasty man; long, filthy hair, unshaven face, grimy clothes, and unclipped nails which scratched against the girl’s neck. The caretaker threw the door open and a white light flooded out. A woman’s dark silhouette was positioned in the center, but the girl could not make out any features. Then a ringing began and violently ripped the world apart. ‡ ‡ ‡ Selina opened her eyes from her interrupted sleep and crabbed a cell phone on her night stand. “Bess, why would you call me at this ungodly hour?” she asked. “Good morning, Miss Kyle. You asked for that wake-up call. Today’s the big day!” Months of waiting and it was finally here. That was all it took to get to jump onto to her feet and walk into her closet to get ready for the day. An hour later, looking the best she could make herself with what she had, she opened her refrigerator and poured milk into a saucer, laying it down on the ground before getting herself something to eat. A black cat walked into her kitchen and began lapping up the milk. A knock came at the door and Bess entered the apartment immediately, which was protocol. She insisted it saved precious time. “I hope you are ready,” she said right away. “Of course,” Selina said and the two women exited the apartment. ‡ ‡ ‡ A taxi pulled over to the curb in front of the GothCorp building. Selina and Bess climbed out. “I’ll wait here for you,” Bess promised as Selina walked through the front door. She made her way to the back of a line and waited until a receptionist called her over. “I am here for a ten O’clock appointment with Mr. Sionis for a Selina Kyle.” The receptionist typed something on her computer. “How do you spell your name?” Selina recited the spelling of her name and the receptionist tapped on her keyboard again. “Sorry Ms. Kyle," she said in a bored tone, "nothing is coming up.” Selina crouched down closer and put her arms on the desk. "I demand to speak with Sionis right now. I don't know what game he is playing with me, but I am--." “You might want to try Bruce Wayne," a man who had arrived next to her said. "She is with me.” The receptionist checked the computer once again. “Ah, here we go,” she said. “Mr. Sionis’ office is on the top floor. It is the end of the hallway. He is expecting you, Mr. Wayne. Just knock first." Bruce walked towards the elevator, and Selina followed. “Why didn’t you tell me you filed my appointment under your name?” “It was the only way I could get an appointment for you. I am sure Sionis would have cancelled yours, anyway, after meeting you.” “Thanks. I thought you felt the same way when you didn’t show up for our date. So, what am I supposed to do if Sionis remembers me?” “He won't.” Bruce opened up his briefcase and pulled out a blonde wig. “Your name is Irena Dubrovna, my assistant, and here, wear this.” “I am not your assistant, I am not wearing that, and I do not need your company.” “Fine, but don’t be surprised when Sionis turns you back, or worse.” “What could he possibly do?” “Ever hear of Sondra Fuller?” “No….” “Well, neither has anyone else.” A bell dinged and the elevator door opened, facing a hallway. There were doors on either side of the wall, each leading to an office, but a single one was in the center at the end of the passage. Bruce and Selina made their way towards the door and knocked and a “Come in” came almost instantly. They obeyed. “Ah, Bruce, my old friend,” Sionis said with a twisted smile on his face and mock pleasure. He and Bruce had known each other since they were children, but neither had ever liked the other. Their parents forced them to get along and although all four were gone now, they still wore the masks. “Morning, Roman,” Bruce said with and equal helping of false gladness. “May I ask who this is with you?” Sionis questioned. “This is Irena—“ “Selina. "My name is Selina Kyle. I believe we have met before.” “I don’t recall…” he said. “I do. I was the one you were trying to get away from before you got the cold-shoulder yourself...” she began before she was interrupted by Bruce clearing his throat. Sionis gave him an odd look, his face was tight and discomforted, but a fallacious smile tried to escape his lips. “Oh, Bruce! What are you—ahem, you doing here?” “I am here to make sure Selina could get an appointment.” “Well, now she has it. We can catch up some other time.” He had originally intended for an "or not" to cap his offer, but something kept it from materializing. “But I’m worried Selina won’t be able to err…say what she wants with you here.” “I was thinking the exact opposite, but sure. You know best, after all.” Or not, he added in his mind before leaving the room. Sionis waited for the door to close before he spoke again and his tone became more threatening immediately. His face hardly changed it only lost the forced smile and relaxed. “Now, you listen here and you listen close. I don’t want to hear any of this ‘animal rights’ garbage. You might think you know what goes on in and beyond these four thousand walls, but you don’t. Some things are just too dangerous for human bodies, minds, and hearts.” “You know, Mr. Sionis, you can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat animals. I have sources that tell me you had an island stripped for a primeval drug.” “And the things we are doing with that drug are revolutionary. Imagine: every person who had ever been deformed in birth or accident given a chance to be normal.” “Who are you to say that they aren’t normal? And what gives you the right to mutate helpless animals off the street? You change their DNA. They will pass those deformities onto future generations. What about humanity?” “Humanity is my focus. This is our future we are talking about. This is only one small project our beasty friends are helping us to secure. You can’t halt progress, Ms. Kyle. And what are you going to do about it? You are just one insignificant cog in a giant machine turning nothing.” ‡ ‡ ‡ “For sure you are not needin' such a strong flashlight, Mr. Orbus. You’re blinding me…” the silhouette said. “Sorry, ma’am…Is this better?” “Much. What have a' we got here?” “It’s that Kyle kid again.” “Did she hear anythin'?” “I didn’t hear anything,” the young Selina said. “She didn’t hear anythin'! What did you bring her in here for 'en!?” “She must be lying, ma’am. Nasty little children; they don’t tell the truth if there isn’t something in it fer ‘em!” “I didn’t hear anything!” she insisted. “For sure yeh didn't,” the administrator said. She walked over to her desk and pulled a ten dollar bill out of the drawer. “She didn’ hear anythin',” the administrator claimed as she put the note in Selina’s hand. “Now, Mr. Orbus, take Selina back to her room and make extra careful sure to lock the door this time.” “Ms. McColloch?” Selina asked. “Yes, child?” she replied, settling back down. She thought crisis was adverted for whatever she was hiding. “I thought the orphanage was non-for-profit. Have you been taking money from the donors?” Ms. McColloch’ eyes opened wide. “And what are you gonna be doin' 'bout it? You’re just a worthless, little girl whose parents never loved her. No one will ever believe you." She leaned out of her chair and closer to Selina as she said this, her old face getting larger until she realized what she was saying and calmed back down. "Now, Mr. Orbus, kindly take Selina to her room.” Mr. Orbus grabbed Selina by her ear and yanked her back down the hallway. ‡ ‡ ‡ Bruce watched as Sionis’ door flew open and two large men threw Selina out. “I didn’t notice them in there before,” Bruce said as he went to help her up. “How did the meeting go?” She said nothing and walked straight for the elevator. Bruce followed, “I don’t see why you’re mad at me.” “I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at the world. Nothing ever gets done on my end. The only progress that is ever made is for humankind. Some people can’t seem to tell we are sharing this planet, and killing it too.” That was all Bruce could get out of her, but it was a short elevator ride. Selina walked out of the elevator right as the door opened. Bruce said his goodbyes, but she didn’t respond and made a beeline for the front door. Bess was still outside. Selina walked right past her. “Ms. Kyle. Ms. Kyle!” Bess said, running after her. “Where are you going?” “To do a bit of soul searching,” Selina said, not so much as looking at Bess. “On the streets?” she asked. “Why not, I’ve done some of my best work out here. In case I'm not back in my apartment this evening, can you make sure Isis gets her dinner?” “Yes, Ms. Kyle,” Bess said. She stopped walking. Selina gave no goodbye and stalked off. ‡ ‡ ‡ Selina tugged at Mr. Orbus’ arm as he pulled her ear. She yanked it off, but his nails scratched across it. She dodged his arm’s grope and ran. “Why, you little,” Mr. Orbus mumbled before his words became even more muffled. Selina ran. She turned corners and raced, hardly having time to think, but she did. She thought of how she wanted to get out of the orphanage, and this was her chance to get it shut down. She turned a final corner and hid in a cabinet. She heard Mr. Orbus run by, wheezing and cussing under his breath before it faded away into the sound of the rats that infested the building. She opened the cabinet door and peered out. The hall was clear. She left the safety of the cabinet and pressed her back against the wall again, shimmying back towards Ms. McColloch’s office. She must have retired for the night by now. She pulled down the door handle lightly and slowly and pulled the door open. A light snore was added to the scene; Ms. McColloch was fast asleep at her desk, a stack of papers nearby. Selina inched towards the papers and glared at the one on top. It was a bill for a new car. She reached for it slowly. All she had to do was get out of there with proof of the embezzlement. When she only just made contact with her paper, Ms. McColloch’s yellow eyes flew open and her pudgy hand grabbed Selina. “I have surely had enough of yeh, yeh wee ingrate,” was what she essentially said, to put it nicely. Mr. Orbus made his entrance back into Ms. McColloch’s office and had just opened his yellowed mouth to relay his failure when he saw the child he was searching for there. His lips curled into an odd smile. “The sack I presume, ma’am?” he asked. “Shame how children die,” Ms. McColloch said to him, in a voice that would convey sadness only to a fool. "I s'pose the angles turn their wings on 'em when they lose their innocence. They are no longer worth fightin' for. T'is sad, but t'is the way the world works." It was mournful, but also sing-song with a giggle thrown in when she spoke of angels. ‡ ‡ ‡ It was autumn, the equinox actually. The days were shorter and the night fell on the city sooner. Selina continued to walk the streets, just watching and saying nothing to anyone. Growing even more depressed with each alley cat, abused dog, and broken soul she saw. Homeless families, scarred animals…there was a story behind each one. People like Sionis kept their happy endings from ripening when it took so little from someone like him. Care, compassion, and love…the same things he stripped when the money wasn’t there. She became lost in the world. She had been looking for an answer, but only had more examples. Her eyes glazed and she strolled. Selina looked into every pair of eyes that she passed and took in what she could of their tale until she came to a man with one huddled in a corner under a mangy blanket. He stared back at her, doing the same, and she froze. “All of these years, and I have finally found you.” A homicidal grin grew on his face from among stubble and dirt. She knew this man. Most of his body was cloaked by shadow or the blanket, but she could make out his face fine. He had one eye, and it was dark green. She was petrified as she stared into it. He slowly rose to his feet, growing more threatening as he heightened and the blanket fell to reveal he had retained his muscular build. He leaped forward, pressing her against the wall. He was not as pathetic as he looked at first. “You never left Gotham. I never stopped looking for you, you know. A newspaper article told me you were still around, and it looks like you have come to me. Selina, Selina, Selina…and they said I had lost it.” ‡ ‡ ‡ A cat mewed at a sack washed up on a riverbank and nipped at the fingers of the girl. A man advanced towards her body, not noticing it, hushing the cat. When he saw it, he paused. He got down to on his knees and took her in his arms. She was breathing. He carried her back to his trailer gently, the cat following. Selina awoke later on a couch. She remembered being stuffed into a sack by the filthy caretaker, but not much afterwards. The man who carried her to the trailer was pressing a wet rag to her forehead and the cat was purring above her on the couch’s backing. “Where am I?” Selina said as her strength came back slowly with each simple word. “My name is Cal and this is our home,” her caregiver said, gesturing towards the cat. Selina stayed with Cal for days, recovering her strength. He was poor, but took care of her better than Ms. McColloch and her staff ever had. He did have a job, but he never spoke of it. All Selina knew was that he left for it every night, leaving Bast as her guardian. After staying for a week, Selina was comfortable with walking, slowly, the cat; whose name was Bast, always at her heals. After one of these nights, nine days after Selina had washed up on the riverbank, the front door of the trailer flew open. Cal was usually gentler, so as not to wake Selina, but she was startled by the racket he created. Bast was uneasy. She jumped onto the couch and then onto Selina’s lap. She dug her claws through the girl’s pants, into her legs, and hissed towards Cal, who was carrying a bundle of rough rope. “But she is the one from the prophecy. She survived being cast into a river, and the new Nile, too. You found her. She must have eight more lives. She is destined to become our queen.” Selina had never noticed how green Cal’s eyes were before now, almost calico. She could not stop staring into them either, paralyzed with fear. Bast continued to dig into her skin, continuing to hiss and ready to pounce to defend Selina. Then the door flew open a second time. A middle-aged man powerfully built and all in black, complete with a domino mask over his eyes, burst it off the hinges. Cal turned his gaze towards the intruder who was charging towards him and traded the rope out for a switchblade. Bast chose this moment to attack, leaping off of Selina and clawing onto Cal’s back and sliding down. He cursed with what pain Bast had inflicted and tried to shrug her off. Bast retreated on her own as the intruder issued a powerful blow to Cal’s jaw and pushed him into the window behind him. It shattered, and Cal fell. He leaped back up, but the intruder came again and hit him on the left cheek and he lowered to the floor again. Bast made her second move and leaved onto his face, scratching anything she could. Cal picked her up with his hands and screamed, “TRAITOR!” Bast reacted by making one last swipe at his right eye, scratching it with each one of the claws on her front, right paw. He threw her as he screamed, but the intruder caught her and placed her down gently before jumping onto Cal and dealing a series of blows before he finally gave in and fainted. His enemy subdued, he looked at Selina for the first time. “Come on, I’ll explain on the way, but you need to get out of here now.” Selina hesitated. Cal had been the same way, but he proved to be completely delusional. She looked at Bast, who seemed comfortable at the intruder’s feet. Animals were the best judge of character. The rats had never appreciated how Mr. Finnigus hit them with a broom, after all. Selina walked towards the man and cat weakly. “Hold on,” the intruder said, “I can carry you.” ‡ ‡ ‡ “You’re friend made a mistake Selina. He should have killed me when he had the chance,” he said before throwing in a laugh. Cal was even more delusional than before. As he chuckled to himself, Selina heard a mewing. One of the alley cats she had seen before was purring at her feet and then proceeded to lick them. Cal advanced. Selina was still petrified. She had trained for this, should she ever need it, but something about that demonic eye paralyzed her with fear and made her as weak as she was when she had to be carried out of the riverbank. “Who is there to save you know?” The angels may have abandoned her long ago according to Ms. McColloch, but it seemed she had a new protector as a cloaked figure smacked down on Cal from the tenement buildings above. The bat-man was there to save her. Selina snapped out of her hypnotism. She saw the cat with its stripes and odd-colored eyes and Batman fighting with the cat-worshiping lunatic. She watched the graceful blows he made, studied the art behind them. “Beautiful,” she said to herself. Cal was thrown down again. “Go ahead, kill me,” to Batman. “That’s not the way I handle things.” “You had your chance,” Cal said, jumping up again, as vigorously as when they began. He and Batman grabbed each other and held on tight, shaking. Batman kicked at Cal, who was taken aback and lost his grip. He pulled the same switchblade out of a pocket. A dull streetlight gave it a glimmer. “Mind if I cut in?” Selina asked. Cal looked at her, his calico eye meeting hers. She felt no fear. It was only a reminder, not a manifestation. Batman’s presence had struck something; an inspiration, a new determination. Batman charged at Cal and knocked him into a wall. He fell unconscious again. He then acknowledged Selina. “I do mind. This man is a psychopath. He could have killed you. Why didn’t you run?” “I was a little tied up over here,” she said, gesturing towards the alley cat which was rubbing his dirty head against her leg. “Right,” was his last word before he pulled a gun off of his side and aimed it upwards, rising above the city. Selina made her way back home, arriving in her apartment half-an-hour later. Bess and Isis both jumped as soon as the door opened. “I was so worried about you, Ms. Kyle,” Bess said. “You shouldn’t be. I can take care of myself. Bess, we need to talk.” ‡ ‡ ‡ “I was a boxer set-up to fight Bibbo Bibbowski fer the championship 'til some hoodlums sabotaged a match in my favor. I was blamed for their crime when Bibbo got sick. I felt like I had nothing. My dad was dead and my mom was gonna be soon without the prize money. But she said she was proud of me on her deathbed and told me the story of the Crimson Avenger with her final words; a man in a similar situation who became a vig when he was given a vision of a new age. I became a part of that age, the first part, actually, and took these fists to the street too.” Selina and her rescuer, who had introduced himself as Ted Grant when he was sure they were safe, sat in his humble house outside of Gotham City where there was no sight of another human being. “You were a superhero?” Selina asked him. “Still am,” he said. “The government makes things difficult. I just downsized a bit. The outside of the city is the same as the city, just on a smaller scale and with less cops.” “How did you know to save me?” she asked. “There was a mishap about fifteen years ago where I was cursed by Circe, a sorceress. She thought she’d be amusing and turn me into an actual wildcat-- that was my codename. The spell was broken by a friend specializing in magic, but I can still communicate with cats and have a few extra lives,” Ted told her as he stroked Bast’s back. “This one right here happened to be calling for you when I was passing by." He paused. "Here, I've got something I want to show you." He pulled out his wallet from a jean leg pocket and then took out a picture from the inside. "This was us. That was me, right here," he said, pointing to a man in a tight, black suit with a cowl shaped like a cat. "And that is Wonder Woman to my side. This is Zatara, the magic one." Ted pointed towards a man who looked just like a stage magician. "And then these are Green Lantern, Flash, Black Canary, Atom, Equinox, Hourman, Hawkman, and Hawkgirl." He singled out each member in the row, skipping over himself and the other two he had mentioned. "Hawkgirl never really joined, she was too busy to, but she had something going on with Hawkman," he said with a snigger. "Here." He handed the photo to Selina and let her glance over it for a moment before breaking the silence. "Now that I've told you a bit 'bout myself, I think its fair that you tell me where your from." Selina thought for a moment, recalling her bitter thirteen years. “I never knew my mother,” she began. “My sister, Mary, said she was a saint, but she died in an accident after I was born. Dad never loved Mary or me, we reminded him too much of our mother. He drank himself away three years ago and we were thrown into an orphanage. Well, Mary was, and adopted right away, but I went missing on the streets. A woman named Mama Fortuna took me in and had me steal for my food until me and my friend Sylvia were recognized by an officer doing his job and sent to the orphanage. "We were always treated horribly there, and money was tight. It ran on donations and grants, which the administrator has been stealing from. When I found out, she threw me in the river. Cal, that man, took care of me and began to nurse me back to health, and then….” Selina remembered what came next, the fear that gripped her. Though not as graceful as the bat-man she would later admire, she recalled the bluntness and power of Ted’s blows. Then she looked at the photo again, especially at Black Canary and Hawkgirl. “I want to be able to defend myself and to help the other orphans and others. Can you help me?” Selina had always wanted to be like the mother she never knew, but growing up beneath Mary’s perceived perfection, her father was the only man who didn't love her, always came first before. She had received a reputation as a bad child, which the orphanage’s staff never missed a chance to remind her of. She realized she might need to embrace the shadows she had been cloaked in since birth, but now she saw Ted as the light who could clear them away and give her a chance at a clean slate. “We’ll start tomorrow at sunrise, kid.” ‡ ‡ ‡ “This city has a bat, why not a cat?” Selina asked. “But why you?” Bess questioned. “There are too many people here wallowing in corruption. Somebody has to sneak over the line to pull them back. Bess, have some faith in me.” "I had faith in you Ms. Kyle. Faith that you could do good honestly. That we could do good together." “Bess, I can do this. Just give me a chance. We can do good and be effective.” “One chance, Ms. Kyle,” Bess said, finally coming around. She admired Selina and could never hold up in a disagreement with her for long before defecting. “It’s all I need.” ‡ ‡ ‡ Selina up climbed the side of the orphanage using poorly stacked bricks to reach the first story where there was a balcony. She peered into a dusty window, and tapped on it. Sylvia, who was her age, fourteen now, walked over half asleep. Her eyes opened fully when she saw Selina. She hastily opened the door and felt a blast of cool air, but she didn’t mind. “We all thought you were dead! They wouldn’t let us talk about you, said you ran away and were sent to juvi, but you left your stuff,” Sylvia said excitedly. Then she stared at Selina and slowed down. “You always wanted to leave. Why did you come back?” “I’m here to tie up loose ends. Ms. McColloch has been stealing from the orphanage’s funds, and she tried to have me killed for finding out. I can’t let her get away with it.” “Can I help?” “Just close the door and go back to bed. Things will get better around here, I promise.” Selina made her way from Sylvia's room through the orphanage the exact same way as her last night there until she reached Ms. McColloch’ office. The light was on. Voices were speaking, but no words were discernible. Selina knocked. Mr. Orbus answered the door. He had grown grimier in their year apart. His hair and nails were longer and clothes dirtier. He saw Selina there, and was taken aback. “Ghost! GHOST!” he screamed. Ms. McColloch walked over and pulled Orbus out of the way. “For What are yeh screamin' 'bout?” she demanded to know, angrily. Orbus covered his eyes and pointed towards where Selina was, but she was gone. Ms. McColloch pushed Orbus out of the doorway and said loudly from behind it, “Goodnight, Mr. Orbus! Make sure to be gettin' some good sleep!” Orbus pulled out a flashlight and scanned the hall to his sides. He saw nothing. Then he did. Then he felt a series of quick hits, each hitting a different part before he fell before he knew what happened. Selina opened Ms. McColloch’ door and walked into the office. The administrator said nothing, but stared. Selina walked over to her desk and they exchanged rivets with each others eyes, emotions reversed from last time. McColloch was the one afraid and Selina the angry one. She snatched a diamond necklace from under the administrator’s neck. “I want my name erased from this orphanage’s files, I want the stealing to stop, and, I’m taking this,” Selina said, selecting a document from McColloch’ desk. “And if you continue the lies and stealing, the police will hear about it.” She left for the door and exited. Never to enter the cursed compound again. Selina walked away towards the bank of the Gotham River and threw the diamond necklace she watched as it rippled and sank to the bottom, lost forever. A truck drove-up next to her and she climbed in next to Ted. She said nothing to him as he drove off, taking her final look at the orphanage. Lights flicked on throughout the building as it grew smaller and smaller before finally vanishing in the horizon. ‡ ‡ ‡ The cat-woman leaped up a fire escape and clawed onto the rungs. She climbed up onto the platform and peered into a window. The apartment was lavishly furnished. She extended a clawed glove and scratched the glass in a square until it was large enough for her to crawl through. She emerged from the apartment minutes later, the satchel she had over her shoulder now carrying gems and jewelry. Selina had to start somewhere; she could not pounce on Sionis right away and claw away his mask. It would be too obvious it was her hiding under her own. The decadent would not, or should not, miss a few thousands that would not be spent otherwise, and would be wasted if they were. Someone had to reap the benefits of their corruption, and why not someone who needed it? Selina did not need the trinkets and treasures herself. Her organization did if Sionis was after it. The pitiable did if the decadent were after them. And as such, most of the trinkets and treasures found their way into the destitute east end, out of Catwoman’s bag, and into the filthy hands of those who could not afford soap and water to wash them. To be continued…